·7th in Points Per Game Against (10.6) ·3rd in Sacks Allowed (9) ·21st in Points Per Game For (32.3) ·12th in Defense, Avg. Yards Allowed (261.0) ·16th In Total Offensive Yards Per Game (443.8) ·2nd In Rushing Yards Per Game For (257.5) ·1st In Rushing Yard Average (5.8)

***Special Announcement***
Stay tuned for end of the season stats along with the special recognitions.

Also, look for the American Southwest Conference All-Decade (70s) Team

Both to be posted at season's end

====================================Season 79

*As of Playoff 2nd Round*

Highlights of the American Southwest Conference (ASC)

GUESS Full Roster Preseason Ranking: 10th**

GUESS Recruit Class Ranking:18th**

WIS Conference Ranking:1st

D-III Playoff Teams: 3 Bids

Total Coaches in ASC: 7 (5 North, 2 South)**

**Thanks to inactives....again (jdawg2201) (wsmith)
With them removed, those rankings go up to 1st and 3rd
-------------------------------------------------------------------------Season Reviews

AustinThe Kangaroos again had another strong year. Powering through non-conference play, Austin won their 5 non-conference games by an average score of 64-8. Their first real challenge came against East Texas Baptist, where they eked out and hard fought win 24-23. Austin and East Texas Baptist were able to rematch in the Conference Final for the second year in a row and after going up 14-3 by halftime, it was looking like Austin would secure another ASC Title, but ETB had an other idea. ETB was able to storm back and win in Double OT 30-27. Austin had remained near the top of the rankings throughout the year, and even though the lost to then #5 ETB, Austin has entered the playoffs as the #1 seed of the East Bracket. Currently, Austin has advanced to the 2nd round.
Grade: A+East Texas BaptistIf there's a team in D-III to look up to, it has to be East Texas Baptist. Year after year, ETB schedules incredibly challenging non-conference games and always dominates. This year, ETB beat their opponents in non-con games by an average score of 40.5 to 8. In conference play, ETB lost a close battle to Austin early on, but made the necessary changes and was able to capture their 2nd Conference Championship in OT after being down 14-3 at halftime. Unfortunately, ETB was robbed of a well deserved #1 seed and was placed in perhaps the hardest division in this years D-III playoffs. While ETB may have been upset in this years' playoffs, they have nothing to hang their heads about and we look forward to seeing their continued progress.Grade: A+

Hardin-SimmonsRefer to Season 78. Inactive again, just ruining what was once a good team.Grade: F -

Texas LutheranTexas Lutheran learned from previous seasons and was able to schedule tough non-conference games. Thus, Texas Lutheran was finally able to grab an at-large bid to the playoffs this year, but again, and unfortunate SIM loss hurt their possible seeding. They entered the playoffs as a 7 seed and faced stiff competition in undefeated Washington (MO). Still, a fantastic season which saw their team high up in team rankingsGrade: A-

Howard PayneWhat a fantastic year. Coach david4211 is a testament on how a good coach can turn a team around in just a year. Howard Payne, after going 5-8 last season with many close games, finished the year at 10-3 and just missed out on a playoff bid. I'm sure he'd like to have that early SIM loss to Carnegie Mellon back, but what a great year. Howard Payne seems to be just on the cusp of doing big things and is going to be a team to watch for in season 80.Grade: A+

Mary Hardin-BaylorUnfortunately, it seems as Coach wsmith missed out completely on recruiting. We hope he hasn't gone inactive. Started the season great, going 5-0 in non-conference play, but was quickly overwhelmed in conference play.Grade: C-

McMurryFirst year coach swany623 faced a bit of an uphill battle during the season. But like fellow coach, wsmith, McMurry did phenomenal in non-conference play, going 4-1. Conference play was challenging for the team however, but McMurry was competitive in all their games. In 4 of their losses, the lost by 9 points or less (9,1,8,4) and they did only lose their games by an average of under 12 points, definitely something that can be improved upon in coming seasons. Coach swany623 looks to be a great addition to the ASC and once he starts getting the small nuances of the game down, look out for McMurry to be a strong challenger from the North.Grade: B